Rheolaeth a Busnes / Management & Businesshttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/15
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:45:33 GMT2015-03-03T22:45:33ZManagement development in small firmshttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/26277
Management development in small firms
Nerys
This paper is a review of the literature concerning management development in small firms. It looks at the benefits in terms of growing a small firm and whether the lack of management skills contributes to their failure. In addition, this paper looks at some of the barriers to management development, including the attitudes and characteristics of the entrepreneur, and also looks at learning models that may be appropriate for small firms. The paper also looks at the authors' views on the effectiveness of management development for small firms, the barriers to learning as well as the skills required. Management development programmes are now widely accepted as a means of improving the competitiveness of firms and the economy as a whole. Although management education and training has, in the past, been designed mainly for larger firms, there is a growing awareness of the requirements of small businesses. Government initiatives designed to encourage start-ups and to boost the growth of small firms have emphasized the importance of management development. This review of the literature shows that, on balance, management development programmes are effective for small firms. The main benefits appear to be survival and growth, reduction in failure and improvement in performance. The skills required include leadership and management, developing management systems and techniques and team building. Other skills include planning, delegation and financial management. The paper concludes that there is a need for further research into the effectiveness of management development programmes, the skills required and the barriers to learning in small firms and, also, whether they have an impact on the survival, growth and profitability of small firms.
Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/262772006-09-01T00:00:00ZThe Assurance of Financial Statements in Statutory Audit, and Audit Market Concentration in the UK: Factors, Analysis and Remedies.http://hdl.handle.net/2160/14187
The Assurance of Financial Statements in Statutory Audit, and Audit Market Concentration in the UK: Factors, Analysis and Remedies.
Okur, Bunyamin
Executive Summary
This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the UK audit market. It looks at the market
structure in conjunction with decisive factors, considering the role of auditors and regulatory
standards for statutory auditing.
The analysis commences with the elucidation of auditing financial statements with regulatory
standards, including collation between standards, to comprehend the current
internationalization of accounting and influence on audit quality and audit market structure.
The UK audit market has been examined thoroughly in terms of the so called “Big Four’’
(PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG) audit market concentration, competition, auditor
rotation, audit fee, and audit quality. Audit market concentration has been measured through
the concentration ratio and the Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index, considering audit companies’
revenue to clarify market shares between Big Four companies and mid-tier firms.
In so doing, the two biggest accountancy firms, PwC and Deloitte, were also investigated to
ascertain their influence on the market by assessing their last five years’ financial analysis to
evaluate the future audit market concentration amid accountancy firms in the UK. Methods of
analysis include comprehensive ratio analysis to measure liquidity, asset management, debt
management and profitability. Pertinent elaborated calculations can be found in the
appendices.
Results of data analysed demonstrate that the UK audit market is most concentrated with
considerable barriers to entry and switching, since the Big Four have constant and high
market share of FTSE companies. As is evident from the Deloitte and PwC’s ratio analysis
results, they have consistent and robust positive indicators; so bridging the gap between midtier
and Big Four companies would not be straightforward for the near future. Despite
pessimistic results, some recommendations may alleviate this concentration:
 The confusions of financial reporting and auditing standards resulting from the paucity
of adaptation should be lessened.
 Mandatory joint audit may be useful to reduce market concentration by signing off
audit report and opinion by the each audit firm; on the condition that one joint auditor
should be non-Big four companies.
viii
 Mandatory rotation should not be prolonged for more than fifteen years. At the same
time, tendering should be in a transparent and veritable-based approach to achieve
salutary results.
 Companies should report transparently choice and investors should display persuasive
motive in auditor choice.
 Prudence and transparency should be controlled by the regulators for steering audit
market, to attain stability of financial systems.
 In terms of changing perception bias towards to mid-tier or small audit firms,
reputation should be improved through enhancing occupational skills, such as sector
expertise, international network and excellence of staff.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/141872013-01-01T00:00:00ZKnowledge Management: The New Competitive Advantage. The GUCCI Case-Studyhttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/13428
Knowledge Management: The New Competitive Advantage. The GUCCI Case-Study
Sole Massi, Maria
Executive Summary
This report examines the implications of Knowledge Management (KM) within Gucci Group, an international house of fashion based in Italy. Founded in 1923, Gucci became a multi-brand luxury goods group in 1999. The company, which has a long-standing international reputation in the fashion industry, uses knowledge management mainly “to share knowledge within the other brands of the Group, successfully building the Group’s market share in the luxury goods industry” (Gucci Group, 2005, p. 1).
The first section of the report reviews selected literature on knowledge management. In particular, various definitions and conceptualizations of KM are examined to identify the main themes and dimensions of the phenomenon (including type of knowledge, organisational culture and identity, procedure, expertise, strategy and cultural barriers) in order to see why and how these dimensions are relevant to the analysis of KM in Gucci. In addition, the study reflects on a face-to-face interview with a member of the Logistic Division of the Gucci Group aimed at critically analysing the modus operandi and orientation of the company towards knowledge management.
The rationale behind this analysis is to investigate the role of knowledge management within Gucci Group and to examine how knowledge management affects approaches to company management. In essence, this study has aimed to 1) Trace the historical evolution and survey the state of knowledge of the concept of KM, reviewing how the concept has been conceptualized and defined in the specialised literature; 2) identify the main categories and dimensions of the concept of knowledge management in order to inform the research, and; 3) assess the relevance of the Knowledge Management discipline in the Gucci Group.
~ 5 ~
Results show that, albeit recognised as a competitive asset in Gucci, knowledge has not been fully conceptualised or explicitly managed within the organisation. In particular, knowledge management is perceived more as a personal initiative rather than a key factor of the corporate vision. The KM approach is mainly developed through training sessions, tutoring activities and online self-learning courses, thus taking into account only limited aspects of how KM is conceptualized in the literature. These findings are additionally confirmed by the absence of a Knowledge Management division or department within the Gucci Group. Results also show an overall “tacitness” of the KM system in the Gucci organization, where the absence of an explicit knowledge culture can be read as a symptom of a missing alignment between the knowledge culture and the knowledge objectives.
In addition, the presence of cultural barriers concretely prevents the knowledge culture from being implemented. Although knowledge sharing and creation are well considered within Gucci, there are still some aspects of the KM system, such as the KM storage, which are either not in practice or have been only partially employed. This lack of a knowledge culture may find explanation in the hierarchical structure, expressed by the vertical knowledge organisation. Conversely, horizontal interactions could increase the level of interactivity, collaboration as well as a good reuse of the existing knowledge. Further research could be developed within other fashion maisons to examine the development of KM in the luxury sector. In addition, future studies could aim to better understand barriers to KM development, perhaps by making a comparison with the other Gucci associated brands.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/134282013-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Impact of Credit Rating on Firms' Debt Maturity and Ownership Decisions – Evidence from UK Listed Firmshttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/13197
The Impact of Credit Rating on Firms' Debt Maturity and Ownership Decisions – Evidence from UK Listed Firms
Jiao, Tong
This thesis investigates the impact of credit ratings on UK firms' debt maturity and ownership decisions. Two unique datasets, which combine the credit ratings data obtained from Financial Times Credit Ratings International, UK firms’ private debt data collected from their annual reports, and the accounting/market data obtained from DataStream, are created for the empirical investigations. The results show that there is a non-monotonic relationship between UK firms' credit rating status and their debt maturity. Firms with A-/A3 or higher ratings and firms with "speculative-grade” ratings use around 10% less long-term debt than firms with BBB- /Baa3 to BBB+/Baa1 ratings. In addition, downgraded firms are more likely to lengthen their debt maturity ex-post, regardless of their ex-ante credit ratings. The results also show that there is a monotonically decreasing relationship between UK firms' credit rating status and their use of bank and non-bank private debt. Even after controlling for other common determinants of debt ownership structure, a one-notch decrease in credit rating is likely to cause a 2 to 4 percent increase in the use of bank borrowing and other forms of private debt. The results from the full sample of downgraded firms show that ex post, these firms immediately increase their bank borrowing, possibly through their pre-arranged lines of credit agreements. However, the results from a sub-sample of firms being downgraded from the BBB/Baa rating category to "speculative-grade" ratings show that ex post, these firms’ bank borrowing is immediately reduced. Such a quick reduction is more likely to be the result of bank actions.
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2160/131972013-01-01T00:00:00Z